THE GRACE OF LATE BEGINNINGS

Tan Kheng Hua is a woman in her prime. At 60, the thespian's star is on the rise, proving that age is no barrier to achieving greater new heights

- Nafeesa Saini

In a floor-sweeping strapless red gown and with her freshly cropped hair slicked back, Tan Kheng Hua is the picture of sophistication. The gritty setting of Sin Huat Eating House-a coffee shop in Geylang loved by culinary luminaries-is an antithesis to her glamour. Yet there she sits, elegant and nonchalantly at ease on an orange plastic stool and with chopsticks in hand.

On set, Tan is a photographer's dream, effortlessly morphing into different characters, be it a cape-clad diva striking a pose at National Kitchen by Violet Oon or a cheeky audience member heckling an empty stage at the hallowed Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay. A quick glance at the test shots is all she needs to work her magic. "Let's go for the campiness," she suggests as her laughter and infectious energy fill the vast expanse of the theatre, even play-acting throwing kacang putih (nut snacks sold in paper cones) from a cone put together on the fly by the crew.

Away from the cameras, Tan is disarmingly grounded, chatting about her fondness for wearing slippers everywhere and her routine morning strolls to the kopitiam (a colloquial term for coffee shop). Her genuine interest in the crew's lives and her readiness to chauffeur us to the various photo shoot locations reveal a nurturing and maternal side; it is no wonder she is affectionately known as Mama Kheng on set.